Up in the North, the ponies have successfully found who, or rather, what was damaging the mine. But their quest is not over, as they go to look for the source of the trouble. In Baltimare, Iron, Silver, and Dark Star enjoy the fruits of defeating the cultists, while Midnight herds the remaining rescues.
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1803 replies and 54 files omitted.
>>127053"That's what I said! Well, 'anygriff'."
>>127054"Huh, I Knew there was a reason i liked you,Inquisitor."
He laughs
"Would you like a drink?"
>>127055He seems to smile back
"They are closing up the bar. But of course"
>>127057Going into the bar area, he can see Glistening Glass is cleaning the bar area. He looks up to Dark Star
"Hello. Do you need anything?"
>>127059He frowns
"It's after 2 AM. I'm not legally allowed to serve alcohol"
Then he smiles
"I'm just fucking with you. Let me pour two of them. Apple whiskey, right?"
Unless Dark Star specifies otherwise, he pours and serves two in glasses
>>127061He slides the two glasses over.
"For legal purposes, these are drinks for house guests, and not sales at the bar. It still goes on your tab, though"
Johann takes his trenchcoat off - indeed, he wears more clothing than any of the other resuces, it seems, and places it on the chair next to him. He wear a fedora and glasses, and his feathers are yellow in places and golden brown in others. His beak hooks down like a true raptor.
He takes a quick drink of the whiskey
"Decent enough strength. A bit sweet and fruity. It's about exactly what I should have expected from pony whiskey"
>>127062"I quite enjoy the taste. "
He Drinks some of the whiskey
>>127063It is indeed a bit fruity and sweet. Just a bit though
"I'll admit I've never had anything
quite like this before"
>>127064"What is Griffion whiskey like?"
>>127065"It can vary, but either a bit more grainy, more like wood, or more bitter. Not that there isn't mead, but that's... mead. And of course there's the blackjack whiskey out of Skyfall. That stuff is
strong"
>>127066"BlackJack whiskey? How strong?"
>>127067"It isn't quite up to vodka. But almost. It's got a kick to it I can tell you that. I can't quite describe the taste"
>>127068"Sounds like something i'd like to try."
>>127069"You may, though I'd hardly be surprised if those criminals had some"
>>127070"You know. now that you mention it."
He checks his bag
To see if he brought the whiskey >>127073He opens is beak, and his eyes go wide, as if Dark Star conjured the bottle from nothing
"Yes! Like that!"
>>127075"Oh yes, please"
He quickly drinks the remainder of the apple whiskey, and holds out his glass for Dark Star to fill with his claw
>>127076He opens the bottle and pours the inquisitor a glass.
>>127077"Shall we say cheers?" he asks
>>127078"Sure,why not. what should we cheers to?"
>>127079"To killing Maarists, of course"
>>127080Dark Star Laughs
"Perfect. To Killing Maarists!"
>>127081He holds up the glass and clinks it against Dark Star's
"To killing Maarists!"
clinkHe takes a drink
>>127083Yep, it's got a bit of a kick, but damned if nothing else he's ever tasted makes him feel like a lone gunslinger or gambler known 'round the towns
>>127085"After all I've been through. Anything would be. But this is something special"
He takes another drink
>>127087He volunteers:
"Savages had me sucked by one of those 'Changelings,' and hung me up like a slaughtered cow in a room with no lights..."
He shudders
>>127088Dark Star looks at him knowingly
"I wouldn't wish that on the worst communist."
>>127089Ever so slightly narrowing his eyes
"I don't think you've met the worst communist..."
He sets his glass down with some force, in a 'clank,' and his lips furl back in what seems like a slightly malign smile
"Still though... watching that pony die... there is a certain joy to a job well done"
He lifts up his glass, and takes another drink
>>127090"Yea, I agree. he Was Sub-Pony Filth."
>>127091"If you want to disassociate him from your race..." he wraps his talons on his glass, a 'clang clang clang" as they tap on the glass from right to left
Then he says
"It is disturbing, however, to see a Maarite chapter run by an Equestrian native"
>>127092"That Was Quite Odd. what do you make of it? i don't know a lot about maarites."
>>127093"Maarite worship is an old form of worship... Older than the Griffonion Empire, older than the oldest Griffonian king, older even than the oldest orders of Arcturus... It started in the area that is now the Griffonian Heartlands. It was smashed by the tribes there, and by the knights of Arcturus. But that only shattered it into smaller pieces that slipped and hid among society. Grover the first established an order of His Most Holy Inquisition to scour and smash the remnants.... But the Griffonian Empire's representatives and traders spread it further, to Grieffenwald and to Whitebeak... In the times we live in now, creatures move further, and so too do the ideas and cultures they send. It may have originated from a particular culture, it is true. But there is something universal that it feeds on, and latches to. A darkness in the hearts of creatures. And so it can spread."
\r
>>127094"But what is it though? What do they believe?"
>>127095"Maarites follow an entity who asks that he be called 'Maar,' who alleges to be a deity from beyond the Lunar sphere. Unlike Boreas or Arcturus, who ask of their followers discpline and personal sacrifice, Maar offers powers. Power to obtain revenge. Power over others. Wealth, and knowledge of things known to no griffin nor pony. And in return, he asks for worship, and the sacrifice of others. Sapient creatures are preferred, though animals are not turned down, nor will he ever decline the sacrifice of his own followers. He communicates to his followers in the form of whispers. Auditory hallucinations. Sometimes visual as well, and these sometimes of scenes in the past, in the future, or of fantastic realms scarcely imagined. Chapters are decentralized where they must be hidden, and run by a central priest or two. They have their own ranks and hierarchies as well, though it may vary"
>>127096Mala has a natural smell that doesn't really go away, Keskoo and Meadows, perhaps also Johann, have been in changeling goop and are probably the worst, Undertoe is both bathed and groomed, Jubilosa and Khoi recently arrived - though they may not have been washed on the ships.I meant like the higher strength, ~60% >>127097"....Beyond the Lunar sphere."
He looks a little spooked
"That is troubling for a few different reasons."
>>127098He nods
"As it should be. The boundaries of space and sky exist for a reason."
>>127099"So this may go back further than you think. i had a job where we had to destroy a pony who had turned himself into an undead abomination. and he had a book on these...entities."
>>127100He turns his head, and narrows his eyes
"What
kind of entities?"
>>127101"Ones from,Beyond the lunar sphere, As you put it. Apparently ponies from long ago talked to them."
Dark star looks a little uneased.
>>127102He is collected but most definitely concerned
"I cannot say I am entirely surprised. Ponies, as surely as griffons, have the desire to know their environment, to understand it, to expand it. To
command it. And in the process, sometimes... they stumble upon things best left unknown"